Housing with cable suspended panels

ABSTRACT

A housing which includes two arches inclined away from each other at acute angles to the vertical and mounted on the ground or other base so that they may be swung about their leg ends toward and away from this position, cables which extend between the arches and are attached to them, a covering for the housing which consists of rows of panels carried by the cables, and restraining cables which extend transversely of and around the supporting cables and are attached to the panels and the base. In addition to the inclined arches an intermediate arch or arches may be provided especially in relatively lengthy housings. To hold the end arches down and reduce the sag in the covering to an acceptable value, tie-downs attached to the end arches and anchored to the base are provided. The housing may be left open at both ends or closed at one or both ends by end walls. In the latter event, the end walls may serve as tie-downs for the end arches or separate tie-downs may be provided. Means are also provided to close any gap which might otherwise exist between the covering and the end wall and the base and the arches. In one form of the invention, the panels are mounted on archshaped carriers which extend around and are carried by the supporting cables. In another form, the carriers are dispensed with and the panels are mounted directly on the supporting cables.

United States Patent Huddle [54] HOUSING WITH CABLE SUSPENDED PANELS[72] Inventor: Carl F. Huddle, Pleasant Ridge,

Mich. [73] Assignee: Tension Structures Co.

[22] Filed: Sept. 8, 1970 [2]] Appl. No.: 70,331

[52] US. Cl. ..135/4 R 58 FieldofSearch ..l35/1,3,4;52/63,80,83,52/86,81

[56] References'Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,215,153 11/1965 Huddle..l35/1R 3,060,949 10/1962 Moss ..'..'..135/1Rv 2,731,927 1/1956 McCain52/83,

Primary Examiner-Peter M. Caun AttorneyA. F. Baillio [5 7] ABSTRACT Ahousing which includes two arches inclined away Oct. 24, 1972 from eachother at acute angles to the vertical and mounted on the ground or'other base so that they may be swungabout their leg ends toward and awayfrom this position, cables which extend between the arches and areattached to them, a covering for the housing which consists of rows ofpanels carried by the cables, and restraining cables which extendtransversely of and around the supporting cables and are attached to thepanels and the base. In addition to the inclined arches an intermediatearch or arches may be provided especially in relatively lengthyhousings. To hold the end arches down and reduce the sag in the coveringto an acceptable value, tie-downs attached to the end arches andanchored to the base are provided.

The housing may be left open at both ends or closed at one or both endsby end walls. In the latter event, the end walls may serve as tie-downsfor the end arches or separate tie-downs may be provided. Means are alsoprovided to close any gap which might other wise exist between thecovering and the end wall and the base and the arches.

In one form of the invention, the panels are mounted on arch-shapedcarriers which extend around and are carried by the supporting cables.In another form, the carriers are dispensed with and the panels aremounted directly on the supporting cables.

1 Claim, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTED 0m 24 I972 SHEET 1 BF 5 INVENTOR.

CARL F. HUDDLE PATENTED 24 I972 3.69988 7 SHEET 2 0F 5 INVENTOR CARL F.HUDDLE PATENIEU 0m 24 m2 SHEET 3 BF 5 FIG-6 INVENTOR.

CARL F. HUDDLE PATENTED 0m 24 1912 SHEET 0F 5 FIG-- /0 INVENTOR.

CARL F. HUDDLE PATENTED B 3.699.987

sum 5 0F 5 l l l INVENTOR.

CARL F. HUDDLE 1 HOUSING WITH CABLE SUSPENDED PANELS BACKGROUND OFINVENTION less able to withstand hard use and abuse by man and theelements, of which those disclosed in my US. Pat. 3,215,153, dated Nov.2, 1.965, and others of my patents and applications are examples;

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide housingswhich are less inexpensive in materials and erection than buildings butbetter able to withstand hard use and abuse than pavilions.

For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference is made to the following specification and accompanyingdrawings in which preferred embodiments of the invention are describedand shown.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of ahousing in accordance with the invention with parts broken away to showthe structure at four stages of its construction.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of the left end of the housing shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an inside view of the structure shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary outside view of the structure shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of means for attaching the lower edges of thecovering and end wall to the base and closing any gap between them.

FIG. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the means shown in FIG. 7 at the junctionof the lower edge of the covering and one of the end arches.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of means for attaching the outer edges ofthe endmost panels to the arches and closing any gap between them.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of means similar to that shown in FIGS. 7and 9 for attaching the upper edge of an end wall to an end arch andsealing any gap between them.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 of a portion ofanother pavilion in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary outside view of the structure shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a view at a right angle to FIG. 12 of a portion of thestructure shown in FIG. 12.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF INVENTION The housing shown inthe drawings includes two end arches l inclined away from each other atacute angles to the vertical and mounted on the ground or other may beopaque, clear or translucent.

base 2 so that they may swing about their leg ends toward and away fromthis position. On the base 2 between the end arches 1, there is alsomounted so that it can swing an upright intermediate arch 3.

Between the end" arches 1, there extend a number of supporting cables 4for the covering 5 which are attached to the end and intermediatearches. On the cables are mounted two-part carriers 6, in the form ofarches, for panels 7 whose edges are clamped between the two parts ofthe carriers and form the covering 5.

The panels 7 may be made of any suitable, more or less rigid, material,such as metals, plastics or plywood, and

To tension the cables 4 sufficiently to reduce the sag in the coveringto an acceptable value, about 10 percentof each span of the cables, .andmaintain it at that value, and to provide substantially full width andheight access, there are provided at one or both ends of the housingadjustable primary tie-downs 8 in the form of cables which are attachedto the end arches and anchored at their ends to the base. The primarytiedowns 8 are attached to the arches from the summit to about half-waydown to the base 2 through branches 9 also in the form of cables tocounteract the tendency of the load imposed by the covering to bend theintermediate portions of the arches inwardly.

I The carriers 6 are mounted on and clamped to the cables 4 through theintermediaries of three-part blocks 10 through cylindrical channels 11between the outer two parts of which the cables 4 extend. The two partsof the carriers are clamped together and to the cables 4 and to theouter two parts of the blocks 10 by bolts 12.

Transverse restraining cables 13 extend slidably through cylindricalchannels 14 between the innermost and intermediate parts of the blocks10 and are attached to the base to anchor the carriers 6. The threeparts of the blocks 10 are clamped together by screws 15. Alternatively,the carriers may be anchored by directly attaching them-to the base andserve as the restraining means and the cables 13 thus dispensed with.

On the edges of the panels 7, there are provided modate lateralexpansion and contraction of the panels. The panels 7 may be made insections, in which event, their adjacent ends may be bridged by suitablemembers 18, such as I-I-section members, into whose oppositely facingchannels the ends of the panels extend. Clearance is provided betweenthe ends of the panels and the bottoms of the channels in the members 18to accommodate endwise expansion and contraction of the panels.

In the event it is desired to close one or both ends of the housing,there may be provided an end wall or end walls 19 attached to the endarch or arches as shown in FIG. 11. The end walls 19 may be similar inconstruction to the covering 5, except that in this case the cables 4serve as the restraining cables. In this event, the tie-downs 8-9 may beretained and serve their original function. Alternatively, the tie-downsmay be eliminated and the cables 13 or the carriers 6 be made to servetheir purpose by attaching them to the end arch or arches 1 and suitablyanchoring them to the base 2.

To further seal the covering 5 and the end walls 19 against leakage, asuitable coating may be sprayed onto or otherwise applied to thecarriers 6 and panels7.

To prevent wind, rain, etc. entering the housing between the covering orthe end wall and the base or the arches, suitable means such as thoseshown in FIGS. 7 to 1 1 may be provided.

At the junctions of the covering and the base and the end wall and thebase, there are provided as shown in FIG. 7 upstanding walls 21 attachedto the base and which the covering and the end wall overlap. To anchorthe cables 13 and the covering 5 and end walls 19 and draw the latterinwardly toward the walls 21 and accommodate differential expansion ofthe cables and the covering and end wall, there are also providedsuitable clamps 22 which are attached to the base and to which blocks23, which are mounted to slide lengthwise on the carriers 6, and thecables 13 are connected. As shown in FIG. 9, a similar structure may beused at the junctions of the lower edges of the covering and the arches.

At the junctions of the lateral edges of the endmost panels 7 and thearches, there are provided, as shown in FIG. 10, on the arches, gaskets24 on which the panels are seated and eyes 25, and, on the panels,brackets 26 to which are attached hooks 27 which extend through the eyeson the arches.

At the junction of the end wall 9 and an end arch l, the carriers 6,panels 7 and cables 13 are, as shown in FIG. 11, attached to the arch byclamps 22 like those shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 and blocks 28 attached tothe carriers by bolts 29. Between the upper edges of the panels and thearch, there is provided a gasket 30 to bridge any gap.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 12-14, the carriers aredispensed with and the panels 31 mounted directly on the supportingcables 4 through brackets 32 with adjustable clamping eyes 33 on themthrough which the cables extend. The panels are formed with depressedchannels 34 on one edge and stepped-down extensions 35 on the other edgeand overlap laterally with the extensions seated in the channels withclearance between them and the walls of the channels to accommodateexpansion and contraction of the panels. To attach the panels to thebrackets, there are provided pins 36 which extend through the brackets32, the bases of the channels 34, the extensions 35 and plates 37 whichare seated on the outer of the extensions 35. Suitable clamps 38 areprovided to hold the pins and temporarily the plates 37, the extensions35 and channels 34 in place. The openings in the extensions 35may beenlarged and clearance provided on the edges of the plates 37 toaccommodate lateral expansion and contraction of the panels. Therestraining cables 13 are disposed in the channels on top of the platesto hold the extensions 35 permanently in place. The channels may befilled with a suitable plastic foam 39 to seal them.

The panels 31 may also be made insections which overlap endwise as shownin FIG. 13 and indicated by the showing of two extensions 35 in FIG. 12.

I claim:

1. In a housing, two arches mounted on the ground or other base so thatthey are inclined away from each other and may swing in both directionsfrom this position flexible tension members which extend from one of thearches to the other and are attached to them,

rows of panels carried by the tension members and forming the coveringof the housing, flexible tension members which extend transversely ofand in restraining relation to the first-mentioned flexible tensionmembers and whose enclsare attached to the base, arch shaped carrierswhich extend transversely of and in restraining relation to thefirst-mentioned flexible tension members and to which the edges of thepanels are attached, and means for attaching the carriers to thesecond-mentioned flexible tension members.

1. In a housing, two arches mounted on the ground or other base so thatthey are inclined away from each other and may swing in both directionsfrom this position, flexible tension members which extend from one ofthe arches to the other and are attached to them, rows of panels carriedby the tension members and forming the covering of the housing, flexibletension members which extend transversely of and in restraining relationto the first-mentioned flexible tension members and whose ends areattached to the base, arch shaped carriers which extend transversely ofand in restraining relation to the firstmentioned flexible tensionmembers and to which the edges of the panels are attached, and means forattaching the carriers to the second-mentioned flexible tension members.